Winding apparatus



Dec. 9, 1969 J. K. P. MACKIE WINDING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 13. 1968 Dec. 9, 1969 J. K. P. MACKIE WINDING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 13. 1958 Dec. 9, 1969 J. K. P. MACKIE WINDING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 13. 1968 1 M kw o I 0 WV; w

Dec. 9, 1969 J. K. P. MACKIE 3,482,795

WINDING APPARATUS Filed March 13. 1968 6-.Sh9ets-Sheet 4 (VKZG 66 I RU /20 M ,QL/B

67 H /A ML 4 Dec. '9, 1969 J. K. P. MACKIE WINDING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 13. 1968 Dec. 9, 1969 J. P. MACKIE 3,482,795

WINDING APPARATUS Filed March 13. 1968 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent Office 3,482,795 WINDING APPARATUS John K. P. Mackie, Belfast, Northern Ireland, assignor to James Mackie & Sons Limited, Northern Ireland, a British company Filed Mar. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 712,795 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Mar. 16, 1967, 12,448/ 67 Int. Cl. B65h 67/02 US. Cl. 24254.4 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for winding balls of textile sliver including a driving roller which causes the ball to turn on a rotary spindle to which the sliver is fed by means of a nozzle connected to a mechanism for traversing it in a direction parallel with the axis of the spindle and in which mechanism for dofiing a completed ball operates so as to move the spindle together with the completed ball to a position which is spaced axially in relation to the winding position by a distance greater than the axial dimension of the ball in which position the ball is engaged by a member preventing its return movement after which the spindle is withdrawn in an axial direction from the ball so that the latter is dolled and the spindle is finally returned to a position adjacent the driving roller for the start of a new ball.

This invention relates to apparatus for winding balls of textile sliver such as is commonly used in conjunction with drawing frames or similar machines. The ball is normally wound by means of a driving roller which causes the ball to turn on a rotary spindle to which the sliver is fed by means of a nozzle having a traversing mechanism which builds up the sliver in successive layers to give a so-called cross-wound ball. At the completion of Winding an arm on which the rotary spindle is mounted is swung outwardly to move the completed ball away from the driving roller and a dofiing member is then brought into action which causes the ball to slide ofl? the free end of the spindle. An apparatus operating in this manner is described for example in US. Patent No. 3,348,783.

According to the present invention the mechanism for doffing a completed ball which is set in motion by a signal indicative of the completion of a ball has controls for operating it in such a way as to move the spindle together with the completed ball to a position which is spaced axially in relation to the winding position by a distance greater than the axial dimension of a ball and includes a member which engages the ball to prevent its return movement, further steps in the operation serving to withdraw the spindle in an axial direction from the ball so as to doff the latter and finally to return the spindle to a position adjacent the driving roller for the start of a new ball. As a result of the operation just described the dofiing action is brought about by withdrawal of the spindle from the ball rather than by pushing the ball off a stationary spindle and this leads to a general overall simplification of the apparatus.

Before the axial movement to the dofiing position can take place it is necessary to relieve the pressure between the completed ball and the driving roller. Although this can be achieved by only a very small swinging movement of an arm supporting the spindle it is preferred that the controls for the mechanism as a whole should be such as to cause this arm to swing back to a fixed position to separate a completed ball from the driving roller and then to move axially to a dofiing position. This simplifies the operation because it means that the movement of the arm is the same whatever the diameter of the ball.

3,482,795 Patented Dec. 9, 1969 Generally speaking it is sufficient for the member which prevents the return movement to exert restraining action on the ball so as to prevent this reverse movement. For this purpose the member may have one part which engages the top of the ball and a further part which engages the end of the ball from which the spindle is withdrawn thus providing a positive axial location for the ball. This same member can then remain in the position in which it holds the ball on a cradle until the free end of the sliver has been tucked into the ball. In some cases, however, this member may have an additional function in that it may move the ball away from the spindle as the latter is being withdrawn or may then act to project the ball to a point spaced away from the machine.

When a ball has been wound in the manner so far described the withdrawal of the winding spindle leaves a hole through the centre of the ball which tends to close in owing to the pressure of the surrounding layers of sliver. In many cases this is no disadvantage but it may sometimes be necessary to fit the ball onto a further spindle for unwinding purposes in which case it is an advantage for the ball to have a rigid lining tothe central hole. Apparatus in accordance with the invention lends itself particularly to such a provision since the end of the winding spindle may be provided with means for gripping a tubular liner and when the spindle has moved to the dofling position it then grips this liner and the subsequent retraction of the spindle draws the liner into the centre of the ball. The liner is then released again before the remainder of the return movement of the spindle.

Apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus as a whole showing a ball approaching the completion of winding;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing a subsequent stage in the operation in which a winding spindle has moved to a dofiing position, various components not relevant to this stage of operation being omitted for simplicity;

FIGURE 2A is a detailed cross-sectional view to an enlarged scale of a socket shown in FIGURES l to 3;

FIGURE 3 is a further perspective view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing a later stage in the sequence of dofiing operation;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the left-hand side of a modification of the apparatus shown in the previous views illus trating the engagement of a tubular lining for a ball;

FIGURE 5 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 4 showing a slightly later stage in the operation in which the lining has been partially drawn into the ball;

FIGURE 6 is a electrical circuit diagram; and,

FIGURE 7 is a pneumatic circuit diagram.

The sequence of operation of the apparatus as a whole will first be described with reference to FIGURES 1 to 3 together with the optional features of FIGURES 4 and 5 and the detailed control of the steps in the sequence will subsequently be briefly described with reference to the electrical and pneumatic circuit diagrams of FIGURES 6 and 7.

Turning first to FIGURE 1 sliver shown as 2 is delivered from the delivery rollers 4 of a drawing frame not traverse by means of mechanism similar to that described in US. Patent No. 3,348,783 the rotary motion being achieved as the result of engagement between a pinion on the assembly 12 and a stationary rack as described in this earlier application.

The sliver from the assembly 12 is wound on a spindle 16 by means of a driving roller to form a sliver ball 14. As shown in FIGURE 1 the ball is nearing completion and this is determined by a yardage counter 18 which when the required size of ball has been reached operates to stop a main driving motor 20 for the drawing frame and balling machine and at the same time to start an auxiliary motor 22 working through a reduction gear box 24. At the same time a solenoid controlled air valve 26 is energised and feeds compressed air to a pneumatic clutch 28 by way of a reservoir 30 and a restriction 32. The inclusion of the reservoir 30 provides a delay of a few seconds before the clutch 28 is operated and thus allows the speed of the machine as a whole to drop to approximately that of the auxiliary motor 22. Operation of the clutch 28 connects the drive from the motor 22 to a shaft 34 by clutching a normally free chain wheel v36 to the shaft 34 with the result that the auxiliary motor 22 continues to drive the machines as a whole at a slower speed.

Shortly after the operation of the clutch 28, as the result of a delay introduced by a smaller reservoir 38, a pneumatic cylinder 40 is operated so as to withdraw a piston rod 42 from between a bar 44 and a bracket 46.

The bar 44 is carried on arms 47 and 49, the latter of which is controlled by a pneumatic cylinder 51. Withdrawal of the piston rod 42 permits the bar 44 to move into contact with the bracket 46 under the control of the cylinder 51 thus bringing a plate 48 on the bar 44 into the path of the traversing assembly 12. As can be seen 5 from FIGURE 1 this plate is wedge shaped sloping downwardly from left to right. During movement of the traversing assembly 12 from right to left it rides up the sloping face of the plate 48 thus depressing the bar 44 but producing no further action. On the return movement from left to right, however, the assembly 12 engages the flat left-hand face of the plate 48 thus carrying the bar 44 as a whole to the right against the pressure of a spring 52, which maintains the bar 44 in the position shown in FIGURE 1 during a normal operation of th machine.

The arm 49 supporting the bar 44 is in contact with plunger of a pneumatic valve 56 and movement of the bar 44 to the right disengages this valve thus cutting off the supply of compressed air to a clutch 58 included in the drive to the traversing assembly 12. This stops the traversing motion and causes the last part of the sliver 2 to be wound on the ball 14 without twist and also without crosswind as described in the previous application referred to above. The traversing action stops very abruptly before the bar 44 reaches the limit of its travel to the right. The operation of the valve 56 also diverts the supply of compressed air previously going to the clutch 58 to a timer reservoir 62 which introduces a short delay to allow the winding of the last part of the sliver without twist as just described after which a further pneumatic cylinder 64 is operated to engage a microswitch 66 to stop the auxiliary motor 22.

The operation of the switch 66 also energises a solenoid-controlled valve 67 (see FIGURE 7) in a pneumatic control box 68 so as to start the sequence of different operations after a short delay. As a result of operation of the valve 67 air is supplied through a pipe 70 to a self-sealing socket 72 fixed to the end frame 93 of the machine. This cooperates with a plug 74 connected by a pipe 78 to a cylinder 80 connected to the outer side of a support plate 76. The construction of the self-sealing socket and plug 72, 74 is illustrated in more detail in FIGURE 2A. When the plug 74 is inserted in the socket it presses a spring loaded plunger 95 to the right to open a valve 77 and to allow air to fiow through the valve and through ports 79 in the end of the plug 74. When the plug is withdrawn as shown in FIGURE 2 the valve 77 closes and the socket is thus sealed.

The cylinder 80 has a piston rod 81 connected to a pivoted arm 82 which supports the spindle 16. When the air enters the cylinder 80 the piston rods 81 is extended and swings the arm 82 together with the spindle 16and the ball 14 away from the driving roller 15. At the same time compressed air is fed from the control box 68 to a large pneumatic cylinder 88 which is attached to the frame of the machine and has a piston rod connected by a U-shaped bracket 90 to the support plate 76. The flow of air to the cylinder 88 is regulated so as to ensure that the arm 82 has reached its outermost position before the plate 76 starts to move to the left towards the dofiing position.

The support plate 76 is mounted on guide rods 92 and extends across the full width of the machine to carry equivalent operating mechanism on the opposite side (not shown). As a result of operation of the cylinder 88 the plate 76 is moved to the left and an adjustable stud 94 mounted on the right-hand side of the plate 76 loses contact with a valve 96 fixed to the sideframe 93. This valve is fed with air from the control box 68 so that the following sequence of operations is carried out in very rapid succession (almost simultaneously). Firstly air enters the cylinder 51 so as to swing the bar 44 downwardly against the roller 15 soas to trap the sliver extending between the assembly 12 and the completed ball 14. This is the main function of the bar 44. Next air is fed to a cylinder 100 which controls the operation of a pivotally mounted knife 102 which swings about its pivot 104 and severs the sliver extending between the assembly 12 and the ball 14. Finally a holding plate 106 which was previously in position on top of the last wound sliver ball 14 is raised under the control of a cylinder 110. Movement of the support plate to the left withdraws the plug 74 from its socket 72 which seals as previously described and at the same time a second similar plug 75 is withdrawn from a corresponding socket 73. The withdrawal of the plug 74 cuts off the feed of air to the cylinder 80 but the arm 82 remains in the same position since it is lying over centre.

As the plate 76 moves along the machine to the left it next engages a valve 114 which supplies air to the lower end of the cylinder 40 thus raising the piston rod 42 in front of the bracket 46. Further travel of the plate 76 causes the end of the spindle 16 to engage the ball 14' and push it along a cradle 115 as illustrated in FIGURE 2. The ball 14 then takes the place of the ball 14 on the cradle 115 and at this stage an adjustable stud 118 (FIG- URE 1) attached to the bracket 90 engages a switch 120. This reverses the flow of air from the control box 68 so as to bring about the following sequence of operations.

Firstly the holding plate 106 is lowered by the cylinder on top of the ball 14 so as to retain it on the cradle 115, a downward projection 107 locating the ball in the axial direction. Next air is supplied to the left-hand end of the cylinder 88 so as to reverse the direction of travel of the plate 76 and start its return towards the normal operative position. This withdraws the spindle 16 from the ball 14 as shown in FIGURE 3. The next step is for the cylinder 51 to retract its piston rod, rocking the trapper bar 44 upwardly to its inoperative position clear of the roller 15 and in contact with the rod 42. This holds the bar 44 just clear of the path of traverse of the assembly 12 and brings it into engagement again with the plunger of the valve 56, stopping the supply of air to the cylinder 64. The piston of this cylinder is spring loaded so that it automatically returns when the air pressure is released, and thus disengages the microswitch 66.

The support plate 76 continues its movement to the right and shortly before regaining its normal operative position it engages a valve 124 (FIGURE 2) which reverses the action of the cylinder 100 and swings the knife 102 back to its inoperative position. As the plate 76 reaches its normal working position the plugs 74 and 75 enter their respective sockets, but since in the meanwhile the fiow of air from the control box 68 has been reversed, air is supplied through the socket 73 to the opposite end of the cylinder 80 thus swinging the arm 82 inwardly back to its starting position against the roller 15. In the process the arm 82 engages a switch 122 which restarts the operation both of the balling machine and also of the drawing frame supplying the sliver 2. The arm 82 also engages a valve 121 which connects an additional high pressure air supply to augment the normal lower pressure supply and thus to provide additional pressure in the cylinder 80 to force the spindle 16 against the driving roller so as to assist in the pick up of the free end of sliver and in the formation of the first layers which are wound. As the next ball begins to build up the spindle 16 is gradually forced away from the driving roller 15 thus closing the valve 121 and cutting off the additional high pressure air supply. The ball then continues to build up and when complete the yardage counter 18 operates and the whole sequence is then repeated once again.

As so far described the balls dotfed from the spindle 16 have central holes which tend to close up as previously described. FIGURES 4 and 5 illustrate the operation of a modification of the apparatus of FIGURES 1 to 3 whereby a tubular lining for the hole through the ball is inserted as the spindle 16 is withdrawn.

FIGURE 4 shows the arm 82 at the extreme left-hand limit of its travel with a ball 14 on the cradle 115. The cradle 115 is extended to the left to support a magazine 150 for a number of tubular liners shown in dotted lines as 151. The lowermost of these is directly in line with the end of the spindle 16 which is modified by the addition of an inflatable cup 152 which is fitted to the end of the spindle and is supplied with compressed air by means of a bore 153 running along the centre of the spindle and connected by a supply pipe 154. (The circuit for this is not shown in FIGURE 7.) In its deflated position the cup 152 enters a liner 151 and when compressed air is supplied to its interior it expands to grip the liner. Consequently, when the arm 82 moves to the right again to withdraw the spindle 16 from the ball 14 the liner 151 is drawn into the interior of the ball as shown in FIG- URE 5. As the end of the spindle 16 reaches the end of the ball the air pressure is released, the cup 152 is deflated and thus ceases to grip the liner 151. As a result the spindle 16 continues its movement to the right and the liner 151 is left within the interior of the ball. As soon as the lowermost liner 151 has been removed from the magazine 150 all the liners in the magazine drop and the next lowest is thus in position ready for insertion in the next ball.

The circuit diagram of FIGURE 6 illustrates the operation of the various switches already described. The first action occurs when the yardage counter 18 closes its contacts to complete a circuit from a supply line 19 to a line 21 through one pair of contacts of the switch 66, which is a changeover switch, and this energises a pair of relays RL5 and RL6. The relay RL5 opens its contact RLSA to remove the supply from a main contactor MC supplying the motor 20. The supply to this contactor passes through a starting switch SS which is closed manually at the start of operation, the running position being indicated by the dotted line. The relay RL6 closes one pair of contacts RL6A to maintain the supply after the counter 18 has opened its contacts, and opens a second pairs RL6B in series with the restraining switch 122. At the same time a contactor C22 is energized to complete the supply for the auxiliary motor 22. A supply is also provided to the solenoid controlled valve 26 controlling the clutch 28 in the manner already described. The next stage in the operation is the actuation of the switch 66 which changes over to make a circuit to a relay RL1 which closes one pair of contacts RLlA to energise the solenoid controlled valve 67 in the control box 68. Its second pair of contacts RLIB close to maintain the supply in parallel with the switch 66. The changeover of the switch 66 breaks the circuit to the relays RL5 and RL6 and to the solenoid valve 26. The next stage in the operation is when the plate 76 reaches the end of its travel and operates the switch 120. This is in series with the coil of the relay RL1 and removes the supply from this rela thus simultaneously interrupting the supply to the solenoid 67 and providing the reverse operation previously described. The pneumatic cylinder 64 subsequently returns the contacts of the switch 66 to the initial position to allow for restarting in due course. Finally when the plate 76 returns to its initial position it engages the switch 122 which reenergises the main contactor MC to restart the motor 20.

The pneumatic circuit of FIGURE 7 includes all the pneumatic cylinders and valves already described and the sequence of operation can mainly be followed from the previous description. The high pressure air supply is introduced at 160 and the majority of the components of the circuit are operated at this high pressure.

In particular pressure is applied through a line 166 to the inlet of the main changeover valve 164. During the normal operation of the machine prior to dofiing, this valve is in the position in which it makes the connection shown by the full line so that air flows to a line 168 and thence to the left-hand end of the cylinder 88, thus holding the support plate 76 in its extreme right-hand position. In addition air flows through a line 169 to a manifold 170 from which connections go to various of the components previously described, i.e., the cylinders 51, 100', 110 and 80. The flow to the cylinder passes through a reducing valve 172 and then Via the plug and socket 73, 75 to act on the upper end of the piston in the cylinder 80 and thus press the spindle 16 in the direction of the roller 15.

At the start of the dofiing sequence the valve 26 supplies air from a line 27 to the clutch 28. The cylinder 40 is next operated by way of a line 39. Following this air is supplied to the cylinder 64 along a line 55, under the control of the valve 56, which at the same time, cuts off the supply of air to the clutch 58. The cylinder 64 operates the switch 66 which energises the solenoid valve 67 and allows air to flow along a line 162 to operate the changeover valve 164 against the effect of its spring 190. The switch 66 also de-energises the valve 26 thus cutting off the air supply to the clutch 28 and the cylinder 40.

The valve 164 then changes over to make the connection shown by the dotted line and thus provide reverse operation. Air flows by a line 174 to the right-hand end of the cylinder 88 to start the movement of the support plate 76 to the left. Further air flows by a line 175 to a manifold 176 and from there to the lower end of the cylinder 80 to move the spindle 16 away from the roller 15. Air from the manifold 176 also flows to the valve 96 which is opened by movement of the plate 76 to allow air to flow to the cylinders 51, and so as respectively to trap the sliver, sever it and raise the holding plate 106 from the previous ball 14. The plate 76 next operates the valve 114 to allow air to pass to the lower end of the cylinder 40 to extend its piston rod again in front of the bracket 46.

When the plate 76 arrives at the dofi'ing position the microswitch is depressed, cutting off the current to the solenoid valve 67 thus preventing the flow of air to the line 162 and changeover valve 164. The spring of the changeover valve will then cause it to revert to its normal state as represented by the full line connection in the valve. The air is, therefore, again directed through the line 168 so as to act on the left-hand end of the cylinder 88 thus returning the plate 76 towards its normal position. It also supplies air to the cylinder 110 to extend its piston rod so as to lower the holding plate 106 onto the ball 14 on the spindle 16 and also to the cylinder 51 to retract its piston rod to swing the trapper bar 44 into the inoperative position. Before reaching its normal operating position, the plate 65 operates the valve 124 which allows air to pass to the cylinder 100 to retract its piston rod and so swing the knife 102 into the inoperative position.

As the plate 76 arrives at its normal position the plugs 74 and 75 enter their respective sockets, the air now being fed to the socket 73 via the pressure reducing valve 172. Hence pressure is applied to the end of the cylinder 80 to swing the spindle 16 to engage the forming roller 15. In so doing the spindle arm engages the electric switch 122 to start the machines. It also engages the valve 121 which connects an additional high pressure supply of air from the manifold 170 to the cylinder 80 via a line 123 which by-passes the reducing valve 172 so as to increase the pressure of the spindle against the roller during the initial winding. When sufficient sliver has been wound around the spindle to cause the spindle arm to disengage the valve 121, this cuts ofi the additional high pressure supply to the cylinder 80.

This completes the cycle of operation which then continues as previously described.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for winding balls of textile sliver including a rotary spindle, a nozzle for feeding sliver to said spindle, mechanism for traversing said nozzle in a direction parallel with the axis of said spindle, a driving roller for engaging sliver fed to said spindle whereby to wind a ball of sliver on said spindle, means responsive to the completion of a ball for producing a control signal and mechanism for dofiing said completed ball in response to said control signal, the improvement which comprises means for moving said spindle together with a completed ball from a first position in which said ball is wound to a second position which is spaced axially in relation to said first position by a distance greater than the axial dimension of said ball, means for engaging said ball to prevent its return movement, means for withdrawing said spindle in an axial direction from said ball so as to dotf the latter and for returning said spindle to said first position adjacent said driving roller for the start of a new ball.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, and including a pivoted arm carrying said winding spindle, and means for swinging said arm to move said spindle away from said driving roller.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said means for preventing the return movement of said ball has a part which engages the top of said ball and a further part which engages the end of said ball from which said spindle is withdrawn, so as to provide a positive axial location.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which said means for moving said spindle comprises pneumatically operated cylinders.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a magazine for tubular liners mounted adjacent said second position so as to feed successive liners into registration with the end of said winding spindle, a device for gripping a liner, said device being mounted on the end of said spindle and means for controlling said device to grip and release a liner, whereby, on the return movement of said spindle a liner is drawn into the centre of said ball from which said spindle is withdrawn.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which said gripping device is in the form of an inflatable cup which fits Within a liner when deflated and then grips it when inflated, and said apparatus includes a compressed air supply to the interior of said cup and means for controlling said air supply so as to inflate said cup to grip a liner when said spindle reaches said second position and to deflate said cup when said liner has been drawn into the centre of said ball.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS Re. 25,267 10/1962 Van Deusen 242-544 2,925,961 2/ 1960 Speak 242-544 3,153,514 10/1964 Honegger 242-55.1 3,348,783 10/ 1967 Mackie 242-54.4

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner W. H. SCHROEDER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

